Tags: ethics

It’s been said again and again through the ages: “these rich people are jerks!” The lower-class people often complain about the “rich snobs,” saying that those wealthier than them are holding them back, that the rich don’t share, etc, etc… but is there any validity behind these complaints? It turns out the answer is “yes”… at least according to many recent studies carried out at the University of California at Berkeley.…

“You think you know America, but you don’t know Top Secret America,” says this new interactive visualization by The Washington Post. According to the investigative piece, following the events of 9/11 the U.S. created a fourth branch of government far more secretive and unaccountable than the well known Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches. Where is this third branch? All around us. Since September 11th, nearly 1000 counter terrorism organizations alone have been added all around the country. Who and where are they? This in depth piece allows us to investigate locations by zip code, see the connections between different organizations and even find the independent companies that are contracted with the government.

The questions posed: are all these measures worth the cost both financially and socially? Click here to explore.…

In the last few days we have seen long-held allegations of phone-hacking come to a head against News of the World, a British newspaper owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation. Did the periodical actually tap into the voicemail account of a murdered 13-year old and the phones of fallen soldiers in Iraq and Afganistan? Time will tell, but the organization has far from a clean record when it comes to digging for information.

Just as Murdoch releases an nation wide apology in Britain’s newspapers, we bring you artist Robbie Douglas’ interpretation of the situation: titled “Privacy.” He draws Murdoch with earphones on, plugged in and listening to an unsuspecting world.…

This piece of motion typography looks in to the business practices of one of the most successful tech companies ever: Apple. While the devices they produce are often praised for their ease of use and clean design, just how ethical is the way they run their business? From a number of Chinese workers supposedly “suicided,” to a lack of charitable giving and questionable environmental practices, is Apple as squeaky clean as it looks? (disclaimer: In case you were wondering, this post was written by a Mac and Linux user)…